See You in the Morning
by yukihime211
Summary: A tragedy in the lives of many. Kotoko passes and little Haruhi needs help to cope. Dedicated to a close friend going through something similar at the moment.


**Hey guys. Yukihime211 here with a little one shot. It is AUish and since I've only read about 15 volumes of Ouran, I have no idea how Kotoko died. But anyway, recently I found out my close friend's grandmother passed yesterday and the idea popped in my mind. Please be gentle. This is dedicated to my friend. I know this is extremely OOC but writing is how I cope with things I'm not sure how to handle.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing as it rightfully belongs to Bisco. I just own the plot of this story.**

The five year old little girl with big innocent brown eyes smiled up at her mother. Her dark brown hair hung straight mid back with full bangs. She was clad in her yellow fluffy pajamas. It was late, around 11:30 pm and way past Haruhi Fujioka's bedtime.

"Welcome home, mommy," she greeted.

The woman with similar colored hair in a ponytail looked on with exhaustion. She wore a prim two piece suit consisting of a pencil skirt and coat. High heels pulled off her official looking air. She smiled lightly with amber eyes hiding dark circles under her eye.

"What are you doing up late, missy?" she demanded.

Haruhi chuckled lightly and nodded.

"I know it's late. But I wanted to see you before I went to bed," she insisted.

Kotoko Fujioka sighed and gave her daughter a big hug.

"Where's your father?" she asked.

There was light snoring coming from the room next door. The girls giggled lightly.

"Found him," they said in unison.

Kotoko guided Haruhi to her bed and tucked her in.

"Good night sweetie," she whispered.

Haruhi nodded and as Kotoko was about to leave, she took a hold of her hand.

"Wait mommy," she pleaded.

Kotoko cocked her head in curiosity.

"What's wrong Haruhi?" she asked.

Haruhi gave her mother a hug.

"Love you," she mumbled.

Kotoko smiled and returned the hug.

"See you in the morning," she whispered.

Haruhi got back in bed and fell asleep.

Kotoko yawned as she walked to her room where her husband resided. She changed out of her business suit into some pajamas and crawled into bed with her husband. He opened an eye and smiled. He pulled his wife close and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"Welcome home," he whispered.

Kotoko giggled and returned the kiss. The two fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Ryoji detached himself from Kotoko to go to work. It was early, around five and he dressed quickly seeing as he got into work around five thirty.

He smiled down at his wife who was sleeping peacefully. The past couple of weeks she had been coming home late doing some paperwork for a case that seemed pretty important. This was the first time she was able to get some decent sleep. He decided not to wake her and walked to the kitchen to get a bit of toast to eat on the way.

When Haruhi awoke, she glanced at her white alarm clock reading 8:30 am. She yawned lightly and swayed over to her mother's room. It was strange that her mother had not come into her room to wake her up yet. As she entered, she noticed her mother's rather pale complexion. She shook her mother's arm lightly.

"Mommy…Wake up," she said softly.

There was no response. Haruhi felt a bit panicked.

"Mommy?" she called out louder.

There still came no more response. Haruhi placed her tiny hand under mother's nose.

She froze when she didn't feel any warm air coming out. She wasn't breathing.

Haruhi gasped and placed a hand on her heart, yet felt no heart beat.

"Mommy! Wake up! Please wake up!" she said with desperation.

Kotoko was motionless and her skin felt cold. Tears flooded Haruhi's eyes as she rested her head on her mother's body.

She was gone.

"Mommy…" she trailed.

Ryoji returned home after getting a call from Haruhi. He had called the ambulance a moment later. He just couldn't wrap his mind around what his little girl had told him.

Her voice sounded void of emotion when she told him the news. When he arrived at the scene, Haruhi sat on the steps of the apartment with a blank expression and in her hand she was cradling the folder her mother was working on the night before.

"Haruhi!" he called out to her.

He pulled his little girl in his arms and burst into tears. Haruhi was stiff in his grip.

"What's wrong daddy? Why are you crying?" she asked.

He sobbed even louder and hugged her even tighter. She patted her father's head tenderly.

"It's okay, daddy," she comforted.

He shook his head.

"No, it's not!" he cried out.

Haruhi jolted in shock.

"What?" she asked.

He sobbed even more almost sounding incoherent.

"This isn't how you're supposed to act. Set your emotions free," he blubbered.

With confusion she eased in a bit to her father's hug.

When the autopsy had been done, the results had shown that Kotoko had gone due to natural causes. It was both a relief, yet also hurtful.

At the funeral, a small pot where Kotoko's ashes were placed stood beside a portrait of her. Incense filled the area as close family were clad in black clothing, many mourning while others looked on with shock.

Haruhi watched as her father smiled forcefully at people sending their condolences. A few women pulled Haruhi in for a bear hug. Haruhi knew her mother was gone, yet she just didn't know what to do or how to react.

"I'm sorry Haruhi-chan," whispered an old woman.

She nodded as she stared at her mother's picture quietly. A woman walked to Ryoji with concern.

"And you say she still hasn't released all those emotions?" she asked.

He nodded slowly. She shook her head.

"That is very dangerous. If this keeps up, feel free to give me a call. I know someone that can help," she mumbled.

He nodded slowly as she walked away. Haruhi ran to her father and hugged his leg.

"What's wrong Haruhi?" he asked.

She hugged his leg tightly not saying anything. He picked her up and looked absently at the portrait.

"You know what the last words I said to her?" he asked.

She cocked her head in curiosity.

"Welcome home," he answered.

Instantly, tears began spilling from her cheeks. Ryoji looked on with alarm.

"Haruhi, what's wrong?" he asked.

Tears continued to come down faster. She began hiccupping with sadness overtaking her.

"The-ngh the l-last..thing guh! S-she said was was was…" she began.

He smoothed her hair and cradled her in his arms.

"Sh. It's okay. Take a deep breath," he commanded.

"See you in the morning," she managed to say.

Tears poured from his eyes as he felt his heart break a little. Those were the few words that would always follow his daughter.

He rocked her gently and cooed softly while crying.

"It'll get better," he promised.

* * *

**A/N Well here it is. It will get better and stay strong Sammy. I know you're hurting though. **


End file.
